Back in 2019 I laughed at a client who wanted a smart thermostat in their rental. Now I install them as standard.

A landlord in Columbus asked me to put in a Nest for a duplex unit back when they first got popular. I told him it was a waste since tenants never use them right. Fast forward to last month and I had to rip out 4 old units and replace them with wifi ones because they were costing owners too much on electric. Have you guys seen a big shift in what clients are asking for over the last few years?

2 comments

2 Comments

blair_allen24d ago

Costing owners too much on electric" - wait, hold on. Are you saying the old dumb thermostats were literally driving up the electric bills that much? I always figured tenants just set them to 68 and forgot about them, but I guess if they're cranking the AC all summer and leaving it on when nobody's home, yeah I can see that adding up fast. My buddy had a rental where the tenant ran the heat with the windows open in January, that was a nightmare. So you're telling me these smart ones actually pay for themselves by stopping that kind of nonsense? That's wild to think about, I never would have guessed that was a real money saver.

sarahh4824d ago

Oh yeah, it's a huge difference. Landlords I know say the smart thermostats pay for themselves in like one season just from stopping people running the AC with windows open.